Philosophy

At Nut Tree Café you will find meals that you can relate to on a daily basis. We are geared towards health and our meals take into consideration certain aspects of nutrition that help our bodies sustain themselves when fed properly.

We soak and sprout nuts, seeds, grains and legumes before we use them in our recipes. This process is known to increase the nutritional value of foods many fold. It makes them easier to digest and taste better in any dish combination used. The process is also known to increase the pH level of these foods by 1 point or more, thus making them more alkaline. Some foods that may be acidic in their dry form, become basic in pH level (or alkaline) after soaking and sprouting. This is of fundamental value for our generation that has been consuming dried and processed foods for years, mainly for lack of better choices.

We try to offer an adequate meal variety to suit our local culture. Our foods are sugar-free and yeast-free and we serve a variety of foods that are gluten-free as well.

In order to accommodate the ever growing healthy conscience culture in Vancouver, we are serving local organic breads that are yeast-free and a selection of gluten-free. One of our gluten-free breads made in-house is dehydrated flax seed bread, which has been very popular.

Our foods are prepared with fresh oils, herbs and mild spices. Our cooked meals are prepared without oils. Oil is added afterwards. Oils are safer when used in their natural form in dishes, rather than heated in high heat, except for some deserts, such as bran muffins that have coconut oil or olive oil, as it is not possible to add the oils afterwards. We only use extra virgin organic olive oil and coconut oil in our recipes.

We offer flax seed oil as an option for salads and cold dishes for those who prefer to eat even healthier and keep up with their Omega-3s.

In regards to nut cheeses, they have a flavor similar to cottage cheese, but with the particular flavor of the nut used to make the cheese. Although it is not the exact dairy cheese taste that many consumers are used to, for vegans this is a very good alternative and a healthy option. It allows for having a tasty meal with nutritious ingredients.

We make a number of nut-free vegan spreads as well. These add to the taste of your dish and suit any combination of vegetables that you chose to have with your meal.

Our Café serves cooked meals as well as raw. In addition to the nut cheeses and vegan sauces our other specialty is a selection of fermented vegetables made in-house such as sauerkraut, pickled beets and pickled veggies.

Our fermented food products include brown rice and oats. These are two foods consumed regularly by most people. Most of the phytic acid (an enzyme inhibitor) is removed from these foods when they are fermented. As a result, they become easier to digest and higher in nutrition.

Our juice bar offers a variety of freshly made fruit juices, including wheatgrass juice. A selection of smoothies is also available.

We provide a number of healthy tonics some of them widely recognized for their nutritional benefits (such as coconut water, trace black water and more) and some mostly known to the more health oriented community, such as rejuvelac. Rejuvelac is a drink made in-house that is rich in probiotics. It is similar to kombucha, but it doesn't have any alcoholic content, no added sugar, and no caffeine. In many peoples' opinion (including ours!) it is a much healthier drink than kombucha. Our selection of tonic drinks also includes kombucha made with green tea, as well as homemade probiotic drinks with coconut yogurt.

We serve organic coffee from Republica a local coffee roaster. Republica roasts their coffee when the order is made so as to preserve the flavor and freshness of their coffee beans. Our lattes and cappuccinos are prepared with either coconut or almond milk.

We offer several healthy meals for breakfast, such as sprouted manna bread, toast with nut cheese and jam (both homemade), fermented oats, sprouted buckwheat granola, and an assortment of gluten-free pastries. These foods are all great when complemented with our homemade nut/seed milks and vegan yogurt. Our goal is to not make our foods too sweet. Since we don't use sugar, for sweeteners we use agave, maple syrup, molasses, stevia, dates, banana, other fruits and fruit juices.

We also offer a selection of desserts that are mainly raw.

Less is more when it comes to our ingredients and how our meals are prepared. Simple makes it better. Healthy ingredients tend to speak for themselves.

We are also glad to accommodated customers who prefer salt-free and oil-free meals. All we need is advance notice, so we can put aside a meal for you before adding salt and oil.

Every dollar we choose to spend on food is an investment in our future health. Please come visit us soon and try our vegan foods made with organic ingredients; they'll be sure to give you more nutrition for your dollar than any other costly foods.